Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in an interview published Friday by The Wall Street Journal that Jerusalem would not forsake its war goal of removing Hamas from power.
“I’m not going to agree to end the war before we remove Hamas,” he said. “We’re not going to leave them in power in Gaza, 30 miles from Tel Aviv. It’s not going to happen.”
Editorial writer Elliot Kaufman notes that Netanyahu envisions a partial hostage deal that would see a temporary pause in fighting with the terror group, which comes amid reports of an emerging agreement that would see a staged release of the hostages.
While reports last week were optimistic regarding ceasefire talks, senior Israeli officials told Israel’s Channel 12 News that while progress has been made on some issues, Hamas has not yet submitted a list of living hostages, which is attributed to gaps between the Hamas leadership abroad and its Gaza-based factions.
For its part, Israel has two key demands, as reported by Channel 12. The first is the deportation of high-level terrorists with blood on their hands to a third country. Second, Israel insists on having a veto over the release of 70-100 terrorists in this category, a condition it will not compromise on.
Senior Fatah terror leader Marwan Barghouti would not be among those Israel agrees to release, according to the report.
Senior Israeli officials say that progress has been made on other issues, with a special team from Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency working on tactical matters.
According to a report in Israel Hayom on Sunday, the negotiations include a proposal that would allow Hamas terrorists to leave Gaza for Egypt to receive medical treatment during the ceasefire period.
Several families of Hamas hostages have received signs of life from their loved ones recently, after a prolonged period without contact except for propaganda videos, Channel 12 reported on Friday.
The identities of the relatives were not disclosed to protect their privacy, and it was noted that other families have not received a sign of life for many months.
Jerusalem believes that 64 out of the 100 captives being held in Gaza are still alive.
According to reports, the first phase of the deal currently under discussion would be “humanitarian” cases, including women, the elderly, the sick and potentially children. Deceased hostages in Hamas custody would also be returned.
According to an Egyptian report, Israel has requested the release of 34 hostages in the first phase, including 11 male hostages, with Hamas demanding compensation for their inclusion.
The report states that the first phase of the potential three-stage deal will involve the release of 250 Palestinian terrorists from Israeli prisons in exchange for the children held in Gaza, the five female soldiers and the elderly and sick captives.
Other issues being worked on include the Israeli military presence along the Philadelphi and Netzarim corridors and allowing Gazans to return to the northern Strip.